Secondary Music Teacher Student Self-Reflection Items Survey

This study explores motivational beliefs and contextual factors that shape secondary classroom teachers' implementation of student self-assessment practices in music performance learning. This investigation employed a parallel mixed methods research approach comprising two phases: a teacher questionnaire and teacher interviews.

This study explored secondary classroom music teachers’ SSA practices, motivational beliefs, and external contextual factors shaping their SSA practices in music performance pedagogy. This research was theoretically framed by social cognitive theory and Buehl and Beck’s (2015) ecological model of factors influencing teachers’ instructional practices. It employed a two-phased, convergent parallel mixed methods design. Drawing on two different teacher samples from New South Wales, Australia, Phase 1 comprised a quantitative online survey measuring teachers’ motivational beliefs and SSA practices (n = 216), and Phase 2 included three qualitative teacher interviews. To understand factors shaping teachers’ SSA practices, exploratory factor and multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted on Phase 1 data. Thematic analysis was utilised in Phase 2.

This investigation found that whilst almost all teachers reported implementing some forms of SSA in music performance pedagogy, the diversity and frequency of implementation varied among teachers. Holding combined goal orientation, positive task value, positive outcome expectancy, and strong self-efficacy motivational beliefs were found to underpin teachers’ SSA practices. Contextual factors were also found to influence and mediate teachers’ motivational beliefs for utilising SSA practices. Classroom- and school-level contextual factors teachers described as supporting SSA use comprised: (a) catering to students’ music performance abilities, (b) building positive teacher and student relationships, (c) creating a psychologically safe learning environment, and (d) having access to appropriate classroom ICT instructional resources. Constraining factors encompassed: (a) navigating students’ maladaptive attitudes, beliefs and behaviours; (b) lacking ability to cater to students’ diverse music performance abilities; (c) managing time constraints; (d) experiencing limited SSA instructional resources; (e) difficulty accessing teacher professional learning; and (f) experiencing restricted collegial collaborations.

Three key themes were derived across the two research phases: (a) harnessing teachers’ goal orientation beliefs, (b) drawing on teachers’ positive expectancy beliefs, and (c) understanding the influential role of context in shaping teachers’ SSA practices. These themes provide insights into the complex interrelationships among teachers’ motivational beliefs and contextual factors that impact on their SSA practices in music performance pedagogy, with contextual factors serving as mediating factors or sources of motivation.

Findings from this study suggest the fruitfulness in adopting an ecological lens when investigating teachers’ SSA practices. These results contributed to the construction of an ecological framework. Pedagogically, findings suggest that those seeking to promote SSA in schools need to address the mix of motivation and context, including teachers’ perceived challenges associated with the use of SSA. Teacher educators also need to attend to relational dimensions in the classroom and teacher professional learning. Regarding policy, findings highlight the need for curriculum stakeholders to incorporate SSA as an essential component of music performance pedagogy and potentially, school-based assessment in educational policy, syllabi and support documents. It is hoped that this research will serve as an impetus for key stakeholders to consider these dimensions in devising facilitating measures to enhance the implementation of SSA within schools and classrooms to benefit student music performance learning and teacher pedagogy.